Frustrations, worries and a little flooring update

Let me just start by saying, I’ve had an incredibly frustrating morning! It sort of spurred me to write this post.

It’s absolutely freezing here, I have been informed from a confidential source, that it’s currently zero degrees in our little slice of paradise! This morning, of course, I have had the worst trouble getting the fire to go, most of wood is wet, due to the total and complete lack of a wood shed, but in general it tends to burn alright once it gets going. Just go already, I am threatening it majorly with tossing it out and buying a brand new fancy one! I’ve had to sneak to my Dads and steal some of his dry wood. Now after numerous attempts at lighting it, I finally get it to go. Whilst there I also stole his data to update my phone and now it’s not working properly! Then I was starving, and couldn’t use my phone to distract me, what else are you going to throw at me Day huh? I’m frustrated as I write this and I’m typing too fast and I find I can’t spell, which makes it worse. It’s 11:28, to early for alcohol?

Okay, I think that’s all out of my system. . .

Over the weekend the professional tradesmen came back and pulled the entire place apart, for a good reason. I got floorboards in the kitchen, check it out!

No more boots falling through the pallet slats! I also got running water that runs in to the sink, ooo yeah. The kitchen got walls and oh em gee! A freakin window!

( A freakin window!)

The tent got vacated and the floor in that revamped. Because, here’s what happens when it rains: the clay we put down on top of the poly panels would get so wet and slushy under foot that it sort of felt like walking on a water bed, sounds like it could potentially be fun, but it’s not when you have to permanently live on it. The clay never really dried out like we hoped it would. A part of the problem with that is, that the tent is not actually 6 meters around, though it was meant to be, I think we got cheated a 1/4 of meter or so, but the platform we built for it to sit on is, so there is a gap all the way around that lets the water from the rain in under the tent, thus making the clay slushy. Sam is going around with strips of tarp, making a kind of skirt, not very pretty but practical.

There are now solid bits of plywood under the main walking areas. The fire place also got a little fixing, with extended flue, now there WILL (<- determination) be no more leaks and flooding. I actually think it burns a little better also. When we shut it down it’s lasting a lot longer, not all night still, but definitely a lot better.

 But today in my stressful state all I can see is the mess left behind, as with any build on any house, there is always a certain level of stress. I just want the end result. Our place currently looks like one of those hoarders places you see on T.V. (shudder) The dinning area is what you can see all tarpaulined up awaiting it’s turn for walls. Oh gosh it looks awful. Please don’t visit us until the summer 😉

I find that I worry a lot, everything makes me a little anxious. What if this is the rain that makes the tent leak? What if the canvas gets a hole in it? What if the place starts getting damp and mouldy? What if all this makes us sick? What if the kids look back and hate this time in their lives? What if something bad happens and the car get stuck in the mud and I can’t get out? What if we can’t find work this month and can’t pay the bills or afford to buy food? There has been some close, tight times already. What if the fire Sparks and burns the tent down? What if I constantly smell like fire smoke? Because I feel like I do. What if it snows right now? I’ll never get a nice photo with all the crap out front!
Tent life lesson number 4: If like us, you have built a kitchen area out of tin, building paper will be your friend! Get some. The tin roof will condensate, then drip all over you. Also cover up any holes in the tin first otherwise it just drips through and builds up, then when it gets too heavy with water, dumps it and if you happen to be standing under it . . . well you get the picture.